


Vulcan Love Slave: Sadomasochism and Vulcan Culture

by Reyka_Sivao



Category: Star Trek
Genre: BDSM, Essays, Gen, Vulcan Culture, Worldbuilding, academic style
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 22:30:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18353012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyka_Sivao/pseuds/Reyka_Sivao
Summary: An academic essay detailing the role of BDSM and related concepts in Vulcan culture.





	Vulcan Love Slave: Sadomasochism and Vulcan Culture

𝗩𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲: 𝗦𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

In this essay we will explore both the popular holoseries “Vulcan Love Slave” and the loosely related but very real elements of sadomasochism in Vulcan culture. Although it may seem counter to their philosophy of logic and pacifism, Vulcan bdsm practices are in fact well within the parameters of mainstream Vulcan culture.

Before the peaceful people we know today, Vulcans had a long history of darkness and violence. Examples include the dubiously-historical practice of kal-if-fee or bride-challenge, wherein two males fought to the death for possession of a female.

Since the reform brought about by Surak (see multiple sources for details, especially T’Rhea’s The Rise of Logic, 2218), this sense of personal violence has been sublimated in many ways, sometimes to the point of complete erasure of emotional response as attained by devotees of Kolinahr. This, however, is fairly rare, and most adult Vulcans do (contrary to popular misconception) experience emotions, although failing to maintaining a neutral affect is culturally sanctioned.

This leads to a problem wherein Vulcan society leaves little room for emotional release. That is where we come to one reasonably popular solution to the problem: namely, BDSM.

(This is, of course, a translation; which does not correlate in all particulars, but it should serve as a similar enough concept for a point of reference.)

In the standard issue of the popular holoseries Vulcan Love Slave, for those few unfamiliar with the basic outline, the non-insert protagonist is a female Vulcan submissive whom the player can dominate. In actual Vulcan society, this is less common—more often you will find male submissives, while females are split, and are more likely to dominate. (Perhaps, as one commenter pointed out, as revenge for millennia of being treated as a prize of combat, if indeed the concept was not wholly legendary.)

As more Vulcans are submissives than dominants, this has led to a thriving if understated market for off-world dominants, notably humans and Andorians. (Andorian-run venues are generally temperature-controlled for Andorian comfort, a fact with adds a layer of discomfort for desert-dwelling Vulcans. This is, among some, considered a bonus.)

However, this essay in particular is focused on the use of BDSM in vulcan culture, rather than the interface between Vulcan and offworld cultures.

First, some definitions. The acronym BDSM is a compound acronym, standing for Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, and Sadism and Masochism. In Vulcan, these would be rendered as natel’es/nahr, abru’es/ne’es, and kusut-aishan/kusut-poprahn. Of these, we will focus mostly on abru’es (domination) and kusut-poprahn (pain-receiving). Some cursory attention will be paid to bondage as well.

In Vulcan popular consciousness, the concepts related to BDSM are less closely tied to sexuality than readers in federation standard might assume. Kusut-poprahn or pain-receiving, for instance, is sometimes viewed as an effective method of practicing pain-control techniques. In general, though, such concepts are generally a form of taboo emotional release rather than taboo sexual release (though it may still sometimes be both).

Natel’es or binding is sometimes practiced in coordination with masochism, though at other times, pure Vulcan control is used to maintain stillness in the face of pain. When bondage is used, care must be taken to make sure that it is able to withstand the full force of Vulcan strength--chain is a popular choice, though certain synthetics provide a rope strong enough to serve.

One of Surak’s sayings, “the cause is sufficient,” provides something of a loophole in Vulcan popular consciousness regarding the display of emotion. Sometimes, stimuli are sought out to make it so that the cause would generally or personally be considered “sufficient”, and Surak’s prohibition that breadth of experience should not be sought “purely for the stimulation of sensation" is conveniently ignored. (Annals of Surak, 316, ed. 2437 T’Prion)

In pursuit of that release, various methods of causing pain are implemented. Impact play is a popular choice (whips, canes, etc.) as are fire play (as Vulcans are more resistant to heat than most known races), and electrical play.

One less popular but still notable option is a proprietary Andorian technology that is capable of affecting the nervous system directly and undermining a Vulcan’s control from the inside out. It is considered the ultimate limit tester and for many, a line they refuse to cross.

Overall, the themes of testing oneself, limited emotional release, and acceptance of the present as it is are all extremely well attested in various sources on modern mainstream Vulcan culture. Vulcans’ proclivity for BDSM and related practices is not only consistent with, but also all but inevitable given the history and sociology of modern Vulcan.


End file.
